Copy-holder.



No. 678,54i. Patented luly I6, l90l.

u. s. surrey.

COPY HOLDER.

[Application filed Jan. 14, 1901.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES:

UNTTED STATES;

PATENT EETEE,

COPY-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,541, dated July 16, 1901.

Application filed January 14, 1901. Serial No. 43,296. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL S. COFFEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Copy-Holders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for holding copies of books, tablets, or sheets of paper while reading or type-writing or otherwise copying therefrom; and the object of the invention is to provide a cheap, simple, and effective copy-holder especially adapted for use by stenographers and typewriters. This objectI attain by the novel construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 a side elevation, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation, of my improved copy-holder. Only in Fig. 2 is the holder inclined. Fig. at is an enlarged portion of the right-hand side of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail top view of the marker 9 in Figs. 4 and 1. Fig. 6 is a top end View, and Fig. 7 is a front view, of the rack-bar moving the marker. Fig. 8 is a side view of the upper portion of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a top view, and Fig. 10 is a side view, of the presser plate or key by which the rack-bar and marker are operated. Fig. 11 is a top View, and Fig. 12 a side view, of a modification of the key in Figs. 9 and 10.

Referring to the various parts in the draw ings by reference-numerals, 1 designates the body or bed-plate of the copy-holder. It is normally supported in an inclined position by the two rigid legs 2 and by a scroll-shaped leg 3, jointed at 4 to the rear side of the plate, and provided with the short arms 5, which touch against the plate, and thereby limit the spreading of the leg from the lower part of the plate, and, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, when the rear leg or support 3 is folded to the plate the ends 5 stand away from the plate and form short supports for the upper end of the plate, so that it assumes a slight incline when placed on a table or desk for holding paper while it is being Written on by hand, which is one of the features of my holder.

The plate 1 is provided with a very limber arched spring-arm 6, pivoted at 7 and adapted to be swung only upon the margin of the copy as the pin 8 prevents the copy and the arm or keeper from moving, so that the keeper interferes with the Written portion of the copy or with the marker 9 when it moves up and down the sheet. The copy, which is indicated by the dotted lines 10 in Fig. 1, is thus held by a light pressure of said keeper and supported by the forwardly-proj ectin g flange ll of the lower edge of the bed-plate.

In the brackets 12 13, secured on the plate, is secured the frame-rod '14 and slidingly inserted the operating-rod 15, having the rack 24. The latter rod has its upper end flattened, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and provided with a pin 17 and washer 16, between which and the bracket 12 is compressed the spring 18, which at all times tends to hold the rod elevated with its shoulder 40 stopping under said bracket. From this position the rod is pulled downwardly by pressure of the 0perators finger on the key 19, the downward movement of which is limited by the bracket 13, so that when thekey has its shank 20 inserted in the aperture 21 of the rod the latter can only move downward as much as one of its teeth 24:, while if inserted in the aperture 22 it will lower the rod as much as two teeth, and if in the aperture 23 it will allow the rod to descend a distance equal to three'of the teeth of the rod, and the sliding head 25 and line-marker 9 are accordingly moved downward on the copy to such various distances between the lines as are most commonly used for type-writing; andI provide paper ruled at corresponding distances between the lines for short-hand 0r long-hand writing, so that my copy-holder and line-indicator or marker will Work equally well on copies written in either long or short hand or in type-writing.

The connection of the rod 15, sliding head 25, and the marker 9 is best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, where it will be seen that the head 25 is a box-shaped shell, open at the rear side, guided on the two rods 14 and 15, and held at any elevation by the frictionspring 26 pressing against the rod let. In the shell is pivoted at 26 the dog 27, which by the spring 28 is held lightly in contact with the rack 24, so that the up-and-down movement of the rod will cause its various teeth to engage the pawl or dog 27 and force the head 25 and the marker downward step by step one or two or three teeth at a time, according to the position of the key 19. Through the slot 29 in the front of, the shell projects forwardly from the dog 27 a fingercatch or hook 30, of which the operator takes hold when the marker 9 is to be elevated. The upward pressure of the finger under the hook 3O throws the dog out of engagement with the rack 24 and holds it against the pin 31 until the hook is released, when the dog will again be spring held against the rack and operated byit.

The marker 9 has its cylindrical head 32 flattened at 33 and spring-held against the slidinghead 25 by a spring-eta ple 34:, on which it is journaled between the lugs 35, so that the marker is by said staple and by the frictional contactwith the sliding head heldin any desired position during the removal or insertion of the copy, and when the copy is inserted and the marker is swung close to it the flat side 33, being spring-pressed against the slidinghead, helps to hold the marker more firmly in its working position than at any other point.

While the key 19 is in Figs. 9 and 10 shown as having a spring-arm 36 on its shank or stem 20, so that when the stem is inserted the spring-arm and the square shape of the apertures 21 22 23 hold the key firmly enough, the modification shown in Figs. 11 and 12 shows the shank 20 changed into a ring or collar 37, embracing loosely the rod 15, and a sliding thumb-catch 38 is normally springpressed with its point 39 into one of the apertures 21 22 23 of the rod 15, so that by pulling at the hook 38 the key may be moved from one aperture to the other.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A copy-holder having a bed-plate with an angularly forwardly projecting flange at its lower end for supporting the copy, and at one of its side edges a pivoted flexible arm or keeper adapted to be swung sidewise upon the margin of the copy, and means for preventing it from swinging upon the writing,

or the copy from moving with the writing in under the keeper.

2. A copy-holder comprising in combination, a bed-plate and meansfor holding a copy thereon, a marker or line-indicator cons1st-.

ing of an up-and-down slidable head or block and means for guiding and moving said block, a normally horizontal arm having one end provided with a cylindrical head pivoted to and spring-pressed against the block, and flattened at the side facing the block when the arm rests upon the copy or is in its working position.

3. In a copy-holder, the combination with a suitable copy-support, a vertically-slidable friction-held line-indicator, and a springpressed pawl carried by the indicator,- of a vertically-disposed, upwardlyspring-held operating-rack having along one side notches adapted to engage the pawl and move the indicator downward step by step, and near its lower end, adjacent a portion of the framework serving as a key-stop, three holes or indentures, a key having a spring-catch secur able to the operating-rack and adapted to be pressed downward against the adjacent part of the framework, a stop for the key projecting from the framework, said key being readily seeurable at any of the three holes or indentures by means of the spring-catch, said indentures or holes and the notches of the rack being so spaced that the moving of the key one step upward on the racks causes one more tooth or notch of the rack to move downward, and said downward motion of the rack,

one notch being in distance equal to one line of single or close spacing of ordinary typewriting, or other writing produced upon similar spacing.

4. In a copy-holder, the combination with a copy-supporting body-plate, a guide-rod and an operating-rack extending parallel with one edge of the plate, a slidable block friction-held on the guide-rod, and having a slotted aperture and a spring-pressed pawl piv-' oted at its rear side and provided with an arm or finger-catch projecting forward through the aperture, a line-indicator carried by said 1 block; said rack having its teeth directed toward the end of the pawl to engage the same, and said pawl swinging in a plane coincident with the plane of the body-plate, so that the finger-catch or lifter of the pawl and the sliding block is within easy sight and reach of the operator, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL S. COFFEY. \Vitnesses:

A. M. OARLsEN, E. B. ORANDALL. 

